


A Sign in the Window

by MelWritesFanfic (atotallyoriginalusername)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: (of sorts), Alternate Universe - Classical Music, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Music, Alternate Universe - Music Store, Art Student!Prompto, Blind Ignis Scientia, British English, First Meetings, Love at First Sight, M/M, Meet-Cute, Music Student!Noct, No Plot/Plotless, POV Alternating, POV Ignis Scientia, POV Noctis Lucis Caelum, POV Prompto Argentum, POV Third Person Limited, Prequel, References to Classical Music, Slice of Life, a little swearing, i can't think of any more tags, though not much by my standards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-10-21 04:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17635637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atotallyoriginalusername/pseuds/MelWritesFanfic
Summary: Noct walks into a store hoping to find a braille music score and leaves with a crush on the store clerk.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title is rubbish. I'm sorry.
> 
> This scene is just a cute little exchange that's been sitting in my head for a week or two. It's actually part of an idea that I have for another fic, but the other fic is a Gladnis fic (that I haven't even planned out properly, never mind written) and Promptis wasn't meant to be part of that.
> 
> But there's a lot of Promptis going on in my head, lol!
> 
> Please enjoy!

There's a piano in the middle of the shop floor that Noctis is itching to play.

It's an upright; not a patch on the baby grand that he's got back at home, with its plush velvet stool and its sleek black finish. This one's battered and old, with chipped wood, a fraying pleather chair, and yellowing keys. It's probably out of tune, too, but it's here, and Noctis wants to play it.

He hasn't had a chance to play at all today: too busy stuck in dusty classrooms, taking notes on theory and history and scratching little compositions he can only hear in his mind in the side margins of his notebook. Now his classes are over for the day, and instead of heading home to work on those compositions, he's here in this store, staring at the little piano that's making his fingers twitch.

All he'd been thinking about, as he trudged his way through the snow-covered streets near campus, was how much work there had to be done when he got back home. But then the smell of fresh coffee and the promise of indoor seating and free Wi-Fi had lured him down this street, and then he'd saw the sign in the window:

WE STOCK SPECIALIST SHEET MUSIC

It declared, in cheerful pink neon.

SPECIALIST SHEET MUSIC

It was enough to get Noctis to walk to the massive double door, where the warmth of the store's lights and the scent of used vinyl took over and coaxed him inside.

Noctis didn't know that record stores sold sheet music. Noctis wasn't even aware that record stores still existed until today, and now he's here, and there's a piano in the middle of the shop floor, a decorative centrepiece, and Noct wants to play.

"Do you play?"

The voice is cheery and warm, the opposite of the weather outside, and when Noctis lifts his eyes up from the piano to see the face of its owner, it makes his breath catch in his throat.

A blond boy around Noct's age with one, two, three, four, _five_ piercings lining the outer shell of his left ear and eyes that seem to change colour from the polar blue of Eos' ice caps to the dusty violet of the fading daylight.

And freckles.

So many freckles, it makes Noctis think of the sparkles he gets in his eyes when he stares too long at the sun.

Noct's aware of how he's staring now, but he can't pull his eyes away. Not when those freckles bunch around a wrinkled nose and those eyes start searching his face, trying to work out what his problem is. Noctis knows he should probably say something.

"Huh?" is all the intelligent conversation he can muster.

The boy wraps his arms around his stomach, clothed in a white sleeveless band tee — Dark Messenger, a band Noctis is all too familiar with, even if he hasn't had the chance to listen to any of their newer material — and giggles. Noctis could swear the sound is more melodic than any of the compositions he's been studying in class.

"The piano," the boy says, pointing to the instrument in front of them. "Do you play?"

"Oh. Um, yeah…?" Noct replies, stumbling over the words like he's learning to speak a new language. "Yeah," he repeats uselessly as he tries to compose himself.

"Cool," the boy says, moving away from Noctis and the piano and making his way towards the store counter that's covered in stacks of books and vinyl records. "Knock yourself out, I'll be over here if you need anything."

Noct stares at the boy as he busies himself at the desk, writing in one of the books and chewing on his pen, and looks back at the piano; the itch in his fingers now notably absent. Instead, he ambles up to the desk, trying to look less like an idiot and more like he knows why he came here.

"Hey," the boy says, looking up from his books — it looks like he's taking inventory of all the records on the counter.

"Hey," Noct mimics, then closes his eyes: he's a moron.

"Not gonna play?"

Noctis shrugs. "I guess I can't think of anything to play right now."

"Aww!" the boy says with a pout. "And here I was, looking forward to hearing you, too."

Noctis doesn't know what to do with that. "I saw your sign."

"Yeah? Which one?"

"Um, in the window…?" Noct says, suddenly unsure of himself. "About specialist sheet music."

"Oh yeah!" the boy says, a smile spreading across his face. "How can I help you?"

Noctis tries not to focus on the fact that the cute store clerk has a smile that's brighter than all the lights in the Insomnian Winter Light Show. He tries not to focus on the fact he thinks the store clerk is cute at all. "Do you have any sheet music in braille?"

He watches as the boy's smile falters and feels his stomach lurch a little at the sight. Maybe braille's a little too specialist; he's been searching on the internet for weeks and hasn't really found all that much, and certainly nothing that he wouldn't have to wait months for delivery. Not that he would mind waiting months, but it would be nice to have something now.

"I'm not sure, I'll need to check," the boy says, chewing on his lip. Noctis tries his best not to focus on that either. Nodding his head towards the door behind him, the boy holds his index finger up in front of Noct's face. "I'll be one minute, okay?"

Noct nods, even though the boy has already disappeared into the back room, and waits; if there's a chance he can get some sheet music right now, he can surprise Iggy with it before he goes back to college after the winter break.

Iggy would like that, Noct thinks. He's been feeling especially down these last few weeks, despite the improvements he's made. His piano playing has always been excellent, better than Noctis', but Noct's got a feeling that Iggy thinks he's stagnating and something new to play is just what he needs to pull him out of this slump. Maybe he could get him some new records to listen to as well.

Noctis takes a look around the shop; its walls are covered in old concert flyers and record covers. Some of them are even signed, and there's another neon sign above the counter that screams, in garish blue, that VINYL IS FOREVER! He picks out a few albums that he thinks would be to Ignis' taste, nothing too loud or obnoxious, and wanders back to the counter.

"Hey, you still here?" the boy calls from the back room.

"Yeah."

"Cool," the boy says as he bursts back through the door, a thick book in his arms. "Sorry I took so long, but this shit was hard to find."

He dumps the book on top of the already full counter and huffs a breath.

"Sorry," Noct says.

"Oh, nah man," the boy says, waving his hands in dismissal. "It's cool. It's kinda my job."

Noct watches the boy try to fix up the counter area and mutter to himself as he flicks through the pages of the book. He looks up at Noctis with narrowed eyes.

"Okay, so I gotta ask," he says, closing the book back over. "How advanced is your student?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, you're a piano teacher, right?"

"Oh. No, this is for a friend," Noct says, scratching his arm. "We're students at the Crown."

The boy slams his hands down on the books. "No way! I study there, too."

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh," the boy says, nodding emphatically. "Second year. Fine arts program. You?"

"I'm a sophomore, too. Music." Noct closes his eyes and sighs; he really is an idiot. "Obviously."

The boy laughs and nods. "Yeah, I figured. And… your friend?"

"Oh, he's post-grad," Noctis says, smiling. "He can recite most of his program in his sleep, but, um…,"

"But he's run out of things to play, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Okay, so," the boy says, picking up the book again and presenting it to Noctis. "Do you think he can handle Izunia's work?"

Noctis takes the book and looks through the pages. Izunia's pieces are something that even Noctis, who can see the notes and the keys he's playing, struggles to work with.

But Ignis really is amazing; so much better than Noct is. He hands the book back and smiles. "I think Iggy would smack me in the face with that score if I said he couldn't."

"Alright, cool," the boy says, mirroring Noct's smile and picking up the score to run it through the scanner, along with the records that Noct had picked out. "Well, I can keep any others we get in stock back for you, if you want?"

"Yeah," Noctis says, "I'd like that."

"Then I'll need your number, dude," the boy says with a wink, handing Noctis a pen and a blank piece of receipt paper.

"Um, my number?"

"You know, to contact you when we have more in stock."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, sure," Noct says, taking the paper and scribbling his number down.

"So, you got a name, dude?" the boy asks as he transfers the phone number to his phone.

"Uh, Noctis."

The boy reaches out his hand for Noct to shake. "Well, hey there, Noctis. I'm Prompto. It's nice to meet you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis receives a gift from Noct.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna put this up here and run... I've got to go to work in an hour. ~~I've not edited or proof-read this, so all mistakes are my own and I'll come back tomorrow to clean it up if it's needed.~~ Feel free to point out any glaring errors.
> 
> It was really a challenge trying to write from a blind person's perspective. I've never done that before. I hope I've done it some justice.
> 
> Once again, thanks for reading this :)  
> Please enjoy x

Although it doesn't sound it, Aldercapt's Piano Concerto is, technically, a demanding piece of music to play. It has to be if it's a requirement for Ignis' postgraduate recital, but Ignis has been playing the second movement for what feels like forever.

His fingers dance over the keys from one note to the next, without pause or hesitation, until they're aching and stiff. He's at the point now that he can play it in much the same way as his lungs can keep breathing; automatically and mechanically like something programmed in some deep, forgotten recess of his brain.

He can play it without thinking at all, and that's precisely the reason why he hates it.

When played like it's supposed to be, it's a beautiful, haunting composition. When Ignis' plays, it sounds so clinical and exact. The arpeggios are crisp, the melody is clean, and when he runs through the semiquavers and triplets, he does so in perfect time. It pleases his tutor to no end, but, really, to Ignis' ears, the sound has become as dull as the swamp waters of the Alstor Slough.

Or, at least, what Ignis can remember of the Alstor Slough; it's been a while since he's seen it.

Still, if he is to return to his studies at the Crown, he has to get it right. It's a simple matter of finding the feeling from somewhere. It doesn't help that he's not listening to the orchestral accompaniment just now.

Returning his hands to the keys, he takes in a breath and tries to centre himself, and that's when he hears the tell-tale crunch of boots on the snow-covered sidewalk outside.

Ignis knows who it is, even though the visitor is nowhere near the door yet. To anyone else, the sound would be indiscernible from any other footsteps, but Ignis' hearing, already sharper than most, has become rather acute lately. The tell is in the slight drag in his visitor's step, a side-effect of a childhood injury, and that can only be Noctis Caelum.

Abandoning the piano, Ignis rises from his stool and takes a seat on the sofa, facing the source of the sound; waiting for Noctis to let himself in like he always does.

"Noctis!" Ignis calls as the door opens and Noct enters, bringing with him the chill from outside, and the distinct aroma of coffee. Ignis hopes Noct brought some back for him. "A little late today, aren't we?"

"Am I?" Noct replies and Ignis can hear the smile in his voice as he rustles and shuffles his way around the room towards him. "I guess I lost track of time. How's practice?"

Tedious, Ignis thinks; "Acceptable," he replies.

"That good, huh? I brought you some rocket fuel." Noctis says through a laugh and places a paper cup in Ignis' hands.

Noct's hands are icy cold, and as Ignis reaches out to put a hand on the other man's shoulder, he's thankful to feel the thick wool of an overcoat under his fingertips. He can just about picture the flush in Noct's cheeks from the winter wind, and imagine the flecks of snow caught in his hair.

"Please, tell me you thought to wear a scarf."

Noctis laughs, a rumbling sound, in amusement. "Always looking after me, Iggy," he says. "I didn't since you ask, but it's fine."

"Noctis."

Ignis is aware he's using that scolding tone that Noct dislikes so much.  _"You sound like my mom,"_  he'd once said, but Ignis can't help himself; with his father, Regis, always away conducting at some grand performance or another with the Insomnia Philharmonic, he feels somewhat responsible for Noctis' welfare.

"Hey, Iggy, listen, you'll never guess what I found today," Noctis says, changing the subject and calling a stop to Ignis' train of thought. He sounds so excited. "An actual record store," he blurts out before Ignis has a chance to even think for a reply.

"Oh?"

"Yeah! It had, like real vinyl records, and there was a piano, and…" Noct's voice trails off. The rustling that he'd heard earlier starts up again, Ignis thinks it's from a bag, then noise hits Ignis' ears from all directions as Noctis moves around the room, pulling open drawers and cupboard doors everywhere.

"Where's your thingamabob?" Noct calls, from the kitchen if the clattering of crockery and cutlery is anything to go by, and Ignis can only hope his kitchen doesn't resemble the aftermath of the apocalypse.

"My what?"

"You know," Noct says, as though Ignis should somehow be able to make sense of that.

In his mind, Ignis can picture Noct just standing there, gesticulating with his hands as he tries to explain whatever it is he's looking for. The thought brings a smirk to Ignis' lips.

"Your braille labeller," Noct elaborates, "do you know where it— Ah!" There's a sharp bang of wood on wood followed by more than a few muttered curses from Noctis. "Found it!"

The seat next to Ignis dips as Noctis returns and sits down, removing Ignis' coffee from his hand and replacing it with a thin piece of cardboard.

"What's this, Noct?" Ignis asks, running his hand over the flat surface.

"Hang on, I'm gonna label it," Noct replies.

Ignis waits, the sound of the labeller clicking away in the background.

"Here," Noctis says, taking Ignis' hand and guiding it to the newly created label. "It's a record. I got you a few, actually."

"Thank you, Noct," Ignis says as he fingers over the label.  _Counter Rockets, Call of the Crosswinds_ , it reads. It's one of Ignis' favourite bands, and it's an album he's never heard before. "That's very kind of you."

"Hey, wait, that's not all I found when I was there," Noctis says, and starts rustling through the bag again. "Well, I didn't exactly find this myself, but this place sells stuff I didn't know you could get in record stores, Iggy. You gotta come with me next time to see—"

Ignis can feel the panic vibrating from Noctis as soon as the words come out of his mouth.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Iggy," Noct says, his voice quivering. "I didn't mean to say that."

"It’s fine, Noct, honestly." Because it is fine. It's been almost a year since the accident; Ignis has come to terms with the fact that he can't see. Noctis has been nothing but a supportive friend throughout the whole thing. A simple figure of speech isn't going to change that.

"Yeah?"

"Yes," Ignis says, patting Noctis on the shoulder. "Now, please, don't keep me in suspense."

"Right," Noct says, sucking in a breath. "So, I got you this," he places a book in Ignis' hands.

The book is thick and heavy, not at all what Ignis had been expecting, and, as he feels his way along the front, he realises that this one doesn't have any label on it; there's no need for one, the cover is already in braille.  _Somnus: The Complete Works of Ardyn Izunia._

Ignis flips open the first page and continues to read. It's a manuscript. A braille manuscript.

Of course, Ignis had known that manuscripts for the blind existed. He'd spent a great deal of time with his tutor learning to read them so that he could understand them if he ever got his hands on one. The problem was getting his hands on one, because, for all they exist in the world, there wasn’t that many in circulation, and having them made to order took months.

And to find works by Izunia, of all people, well… Noctis may as well have handed him a book made out of Mythril.

Ignis feels speechless. After weeks of playing the same old, tired scores over and over again, it feels like a whole new world has been opened up to him. And he can't wait to get started. Izunia scores for piano rate among some of the most challenging pieces to have ever been written. Ignis is particularly keen to try the infamous  _Demonic Concerto_  — a composition that, it's been said, Izunia couldn't even play himself.

"How did…" he starts, trying to think of the words to say. "Who…"

"There's this guy who works there, at the record store, I mean," Noctis says, and if Ignis didn’t know better, he'd say he sounds a little nervous,  "His name's Prompto — he was wearing one of your uncle's band t-shirts by-the-way — and he said that he could order more if you like it… Do you? Like it, I mean."

"This," Ignis says, lifting the book up a little, "is exactly what I've been looking for, Noct. How on Eos did you know?"

"I just had an inkling," Noct says, almost shyly, "you've just seemed so bored lately."

Ignis has to snort; bored is an understatement. He's been frustrated to the point of giving in. "Noct, I don't know how to thank you for this."

"There's no need to thank me, Iggy."

"Yes, there is. I don't think you realise what you have given me."

"Honestly, Ignis, getting to hear you play some of this will be thanks enough for me," Noctis says, "you think you'll have any of those mastered in time for going back to college?"

"Oh, I don't know about having it mastered," Ignis replies, getting up from his seat and making his way back to his piano. "But I'm going to give it a damn good try."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aldercapt's Piano Concerto (2nd Movement) is based on [Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 (2nd Movement)](https://youtu.be/SIuJh2V3SrQ).  
> Izunia's "Demonic" Concerto is based on [Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3](https://youtu.be/Ql_hANUygYg).
> 
> You'll have to excuse me if the links don't work, I'm editing this on my phone on my dinner break at work!
> 
> Also the second video is a blind piano player, playing that concerto (which is 29 mins long fyi... in case ya wanna skip it!)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)  
> Mel x


End file.
